No access restrictions Many of SIA's holdings are located off-site, and advance notice is recommended to consult a collection. Please email the SIA Reference Team at osiaref@si.edu
National Portrait Gallery (Smithsonian Institution). Department of Design and Production Search this
Extent:
8 cu. ft. (8 record storage boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Brochures
Manuscripts
Pamphlets
Floppy disks
Architectural drawings
Drawings
Floor plans
Black-and-white negatives
Black-and-white photographs
Black-and-white transparencies
Color negatives
Color photographs
Color transparencies
Electronic records
Date:
1981-2002
Descriptive Entry:
This accession consists of two series. Series 1 consists of graphics records and documents the work of the department on such aspects of exhibitions as gallery guides,
posters, invitations, label text, banners, letterhead, case labels, brochures, murals, and advertisements. Series 2 consists of installation records and documents the work
of the department in installing exhibitions at the museum. Included in this series are floor plans, architectural drawings, installation schedules, and other related materials.
Some of the exhibitions covered include Rebels: Painters and Poets of the 1950s; 1846: Portrait of the Nation; Louis Armstrong: Cultural Legacy; Red,
Hot & Blue: A Salute to American Musicals; Le Tumulte Noir: Paul Colin's Jazz Age Portfolio; Breaking Racial Barriers: African Americans in the Harmon Foundation
Collection; Edith Wharton's World: Portraits of People and Places; George C. Marshall: Soldier of Peace; Celebrity Caricature in America; Theodore
Roosevelt: Icon of the American Century; Philippe Halsman: A Retrospective; Paul Robeson: Artist and Citizen; George and Martha Washington: Portraits
from the Presidential Years; Franklin & His Friends: Portraying the Man of Science in Eighteenth Century America; Hans Namuth: Portraits; Edward Sorel:
Unauthorized Portraits; A Durable Memento: Portraits by Augustus Washington, African American Daguerreotypist; and Tete a Tete: Portraits by Henri Cartier-Bresson.
Materials include correspondence; memoranda; notes; architectural drawings; floor plans; brochures; pamphlets; drawings; black-and-white photographs, negatives, and transparencies;
and color photographs, negatives, and transparencies. Some materials are in electronic format.
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Accession 07-054, National Portrait Gallery (Smithsonian Institution), Department of Design and Production, Exhibition Records
National Museum of American History. Division of Photographic History Search this
Extent:
10 cu. ft. (10 record storage boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Manuscripts
Brochures
Black-and-white photographs
Date:
circa 1883-1984
Descriptive Entry:
These records consist mostly of curatorial and staff correspondence and memoranda documenting activities of the Division and its predecessors, especially during the
tenures of Thomas W. Smillie, Alexander J. Wedderburn, and Eugene N. Ostroff. The records also include information on the Hall of Photography, organized by Ostroff; newspaper
clippings pertaining to the field of photography; historic photographs; annual reports; and administrative files.
Historical Note:
The history of photography at the Smithsonian Institution dates from the 1850s. In 1859, Secretary Joseph Henry proposed that a photographic record be assembled of
Native American delegations visiting Washington, D.C. In 1867, with the support of Ferdinand V. Hayden, a geologist, and William H. Blackmore, a wealthy English collector
and speculator, Washington photographers Alexander Gardner and Antonio Zeno Shindler began photographing the Native American delegates. These images and others formed the
earliest Smithsonian photograph collection.
In 1883, the Section of Photography was established in the Department of Preparation, with Thomas William Smillie as photographer. Smillie, a former photographer at the
United States Fish Commission, had been employed by the Institution as its official photographer since 1870. Smillie was named custodian of the Section in 1896, but also continued
to function as the Institution's photographer until his death in 1917. His successors also retained these dual responsibilities until 1943, when the duties were separated
and Gurney I. Hightower became the Institution's official photographer.
In 1897, the Section became a part of the Division of Graphic Arts, where it remained until 1969. At that time, the Division was redesignated Graphic Arts and Photography.
In 1972, the two functions divided, and the Division of Photographic History was established in the Department of Applied Arts. At that time, Eugene N. Ostroff, associate
curator and curator of photography under the previous divisions, was made curator of photographic history. Successively, the Division was affiliated with the Department of
History of Technology, 1978-1980, and then the Department of the History of Science and Technology.
The Division of Photographic History and its predecessors primarily documented the history of photographic science and technology in America since the nineteenth century.
The Division collected cameras, patent models, motion picture apparatus, and photographs such as daguerreotypes, tintypes, and calotypes.
Curators and staff of the Division included Thomas W. Smillie, photographer, 1871-1895, custodian and photographer, 1896-1917; Loring W. Beeson, custodian and photographer,
1917-1920; Arthur J. Olmsted, custodian and photographer, 1920-1930, assistant curator and photographer, 1931-1941, associate curator and photographer, 1942, associate curator,
1943-1946; Alexander I. Wedderburn, associate curator, 1947-1960; Eugene N. Ostroff, associate curator of photography, 1960-1966, curator, 1966-1972, curator of photographic
history, 1972- , and David E. Haberstich, assistant curator, 1970-1976.
Smithsonian Resident Associate Program. Studio Arts Program Search this
Extent:
2 cu. ft. (2 record storage boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Brochures
Clippings
Manuscripts
Architectural drawings
Black-and-white photographs
Date:
1982-1990
Descriptive Entry:
This accession consists of records that docuement the Resident Associates Program, Studio Arts Department's involvement with the Discover Graphics Program. Materials
include correspondence and memoranda that document student exhibitions, funding proposals, teacher training, publicity, lithography, and inventory; course descriptions; list
of participant's addresses; newspaper clippings; art catalogs; course files; show announcements; brochures; student applications; grant information; notes; blueprints; and
photographs.
National Museum of History and Technology. Division of Graphic Arts Search this
Extent:
5.5 cu. ft. (5 record storage boxes) (1 document box)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Black-and-white photographs
Clippings
Manuscripts
Date:
1887-1978
Descriptive Entry:
These records include Division of Graphic Arts records dating from its establishment, including the work of curators Sylvester Rosa Koehler, Jacob Kainen, and Peter
C. Marzio. Also included are lecture notes and papers of curators Ruel P. Tolman, Kainen, and Marzio; inventory lists of Graphic Arts objects; working outline for The Steam
Engine in the Graphic Arts exhibition; loans and grants files; correspondence, newspaper clippings, and biographical information pertaining to acclaimed painter and etcher
Charles W. Dahlgreen; Do It the Hard Way: Rube Goldberg and Modern Times exhibition records; photographs of exhibitions in the Hall of Graphic Arts; and planning files
for the Hall of News Reporting.
Historical Note:
From 1969 to 1971, the Division of Graphic Arts was part of the Division of Graphic Arts and Photography, which reported to the Department of Applied Arts in the National
Museum of History and Technology (NMHT). When the photography section was separated from the Division in 1972, to become the Division of Photographic History, a Division of
Graphic Arts was re-established in NMHT. The Division of Graphic Arts remained under the Department of Applied Arts until 1977, after which it began reporting to the Department
of Cultural History.
The Curators and staff during these years included Eugene H. Ostroff, Curator, 1966-1971; Peter C. Marzio, Associate Curator, 1971-1975, and Curator, 1976-1978; and Elizabeth
M. Harris, Assistant Curator, 1966-1970, and Associate Curator, 1971- .
National Museum of American History. Division of Information Technology and Society Search this
Extent:
1 cu. ft. (1 record storage box)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Manuscripts
Drawings
Date:
1965-1999
Descriptive Entry:
This accession consists of the records of Elizabeth M. Harris, Curator Emeritus of Graphic Arts in the National Museum of American History (NMAH), Division of Information
Technology and Society. Materials include Harris' correspondence and memoranda documenting her work on the Hall of Graphic Arts, the Ceremonial Court at NMAH, and a small
guide for NMAH; copies of Harris' publications, lecture papers, and published reviews pertaining to the field of graphic arts; original artwork of printing presses in the
Graphic Arts Collection; and professional information on Harris, spanning the years she was associated with the Smithsonian (1965-1999).
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Accession 99-138, National Museum of American History. Division of Information Technology and Society, Curatorial Records
0.40 cu. ft. (1 half document box) (1 oversize folder)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Manuscripts
Posters
Color photographs
Date:
circa 1982-1999
Descriptive Entry:
This accession consists of the personal papers of Michael Lee Tiffany. Tiffany combined his studies in geology and paleontology with his skill in the visual arts to
work as an exhibits designer and fossil preparator for several museums. Tiffany served at the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH), Office of Exhibits, from 1982 through
1987 where he was involved in the reorganization of the Hall of Paleontology. During this time, he also contributed drawings to several other design and installation projects
throughout the Smithsonian Institution. In 1984, Tiffany submitted an entry to the NMNH's Diamond Jubilee poster contest and was subsequently selected as the winner. Materials
include Tiffany's original hand-drawn poster entry and award letter; several bookmarks which he helped design; photographs of Tiffany working at NMNH and receiving his poster
award; and copies of his resumes and obituaries.
National Museum of American Art. Curatorial Office Search this
Extent:
6 cu. ft. (6 record storage boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Brochures
Clippings
Manuscripts
Newsletters
Pamphlets
Floor plans
Black-and-white photographs
Color transparencies
Date:
1988-1999
Descriptive Entry:
These records document the exhibition activities of the Division of Graphic Arts within the Curatorial Office at the National Museum of American Art. Records created
prior to 1989 were created in the Department of Graphic Arts.
Materials include correspondence, memoranda, proposals, press kits, black and white photographs, slides of artists' work, checklists, label/wall text, itineraries, installation
materials and photographs, floor plans, invitations, guest lists, catalog text, budget information, visitor impressions of exhibitions, notes and related records.
Historical Note:
The Department of Graphic Arts became a division of the newly formed Curatorial Department in 1989. The Department was renamed the Curatorial Office circa 1992. The
Curatorial Office organizes and oversees the museum's exhibitions and acquisitions programs, as well as researching and displaying the national collection.
These records consist of microfilm copies of United States National Museum departmental and divisional specimen catalog books. The copies were made in 1943 by the National
Archives in connection with the program for the protection of government records. Microfilm is 35mm panchromatic non-halation safety negative film. Catalog books concern crustacea,
echinoderms, gems, meteorites, paleobotany, paleozoic invertebrates, radiates, worms, protozoans, paleontology, bryozoans, rocks, plants, helminthology, graphic arts, the
Charles Upham Shepard mineral collections, the Washington A. Roebling Collection, the Frederick A. Canfield Geology Collection, the Springer Geology Collection, and Cenozoic
Invertebrates Station Data.
Smithsonian American Art Museum. Curatorial Office Search this
Extent:
12 cu. ft. (12 record storage boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Manuscripts
Clippings
Brochures
Compact discs
Digital versatile discs
Electronic records
Drawings
Color photographs
Black-and-white photographs
Color transparencies
Color negatives
Date:
1966-2017
Descriptive Entry:
This accession consists of records documenting declined artwork offered by artists, private collectors, dealers, art galleries, foundations, corporations, and through
estates and loans to the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Earlier records date back to when the museum was known as the National Museum of American Art and the National Collection
of Fine Arts, respectively. Materials include correspondence, memoranda, and notes; proposals; appraisal reports; financial summaries; agreements; intellectual property information;
curricula vitae; object lists; estate information; press releases, articles, and newspaper clippings; photographs, slides, and negatives of artwork; drawings; and brochures.
Some materials are in electronic format.
Rights:
Restricted for 15 years, until Jan-01-2033. Records may contain personally identifiable information (PII) that is permanently restricted. Transferring office; 3/22/2019 memorandum, Johnstone to Laura Augustin; Contact reference staff for details.
Approximately 3,000 examples of commercial printing and printed advertising ephemera.
Arrangement:
Divided into 20 series.
Biographical / Historical:
Graphic designer and collector of advertising ephemera.
Provenance:
Purchase
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
National Museum of American Art. Office of Public Programs Search this
Extent:
2 cu. ft. (2 record storage boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Motion pictures (visual works)
Videotapes
Audiotapes
Date:
1970-1994
Descriptive Entry:
This accession consists of audiovisual materials recorded or collected by the Office of Public Programs to be used in programs at the National Museum of American Art
(NMAA). Some of the materials come from when the office was known as the Department of Education and from when the museum was known as the National Collection of Fine Arts
(NCFA). Topics covered by the records include photography history, art history, staff meetings, historic preservation, painting, graphic arts, and lithography. Also documented
are the exhibitions Craft Multiples and Explorations. Materials include videotapes, audiotapes, and motion picture film.
This collection features business documents, legal papers, and examples of prints from Martin J. Weber, who pioneered the "Weber Process."
Scope and Contents:
This collection documents the Weber Process for printing that made images on paper appear more three dimensional, as well as the photomechanical apparatus Weber developed to implement it . The collection contains patent documents, contracts and business papers, correspondence, design drawings, advertisements for the Weber Process and for his studio, and a paper he delivered to the American Photo Engravers Association. It also contains numerous samples of Weber's work, including magazines covers and advertisements, annual reports from companies featuring images enhanced by Weber, brochures, and other printed material.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into nine series.
Series 1: Articles, 1931-1971
Series 2: Awards, 1931-1971
Series 3: Business Documents, 1931-1971
Series 4: Correspondence, 1931-1971
Series 5: Legal Documents, 1931-1971
Series 6: Prints, 1931-1980
Series 7: Weber Process Documents, 1931-1971
Series 8: Photographs, 1931-1971
Series 9: Large Prints, 1931-1971
Biographical / Historical:
Martin J. Weber was born in 1905 and worked as a graphic artist, inventor and typographer in the commercial art industry into his eighties. He died in 2007 at the age of 102.
Weber invented and patented the Weber Process in 1942, which utilized a photomechanical apparatus that altered images and text photographically to give pattern, texture, and shadow. Also known as Posterization, the process gave two-dimensional surfaces the "illusion of being reproduced in three dimensions" by printing multiple layers offset from one another. Weber helped to define the look of mid-twentieth century American advertising art, offering a "low-cost way of simulating multiple color reproduction." The process revolutionized lithography, screen printing, and standard printing, and later influenced computer typography.
Sources
Heller, Steven. "Martin Weber in the Third Dimension." Design Observer. June 19, 2007. Accessed August 03, 2016. http://designobserver.com/article.php?id=5657.
Provenance:
Donated to the Archives Center by Martin J. Weber's son, Carl Weber, 2011.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
National Museum of History and Technology. Division of Graphic Arts and Photography Search this
Extent:
5 cu. ft. (5 record storage boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Floor plans
Manuscripts
Black-and-white photographs
Clippings
Illustrations
Architectural drawings
Date:
1882-1969
Descriptive Entry:
These records consist of correspondence, accession lists, blueprints for the Hall of Graphic Arts, historical information about the Division, annual reports, staff
lecture notes and papers, materials pertaining to The Printing Ink exhibition, biographies of important contributors in the field of printing technology, exhibition labels
and photographs, correspondence logs, and newspaper clippings pertaining to activities of the Division.
Historical Note:
In December 1882, George Brown Goode, the Assistant Director in charge of the United States National Museum (USNM), wrote to arts scholar Sylvester Rosa Koehler of
Boston, requesting his assistance in creating a Graphic Arts collection for the Smithsonian Institution. Koehler agreed to collaborate with Goode, and together they laid out
plans for such a collection over the next four years. When the Section of Graphic Arts was established in 1886, Kosehler became its part-time Curator. The Section was under
the Department of Arts and Industries, which reported to the Division of Anthropology in USNM. During this period Koehler collected numerous artifacts for the Section, developed
a print collection that became a permanent exhibition at USNM, and published extensively in the arts field.
The Section of Graphic Arts began reporting to the Department of Anthropology when USNM was reorganized in 1897. After Koehler's death in 1900, the Graphic Arts collections
were administered by the Smithsonian Library. In 1904, however, the Section was renamed the Division of Graphic Arts, which continued to submit reports to the Department of
Anthropology. Paul Brockett was made Custodian of the Division that year, and later, in 1912, Ruel Pardee Tolman became his aide. When another reorganization of USNM occurred
in 1920, the Division of Graphic Arts began reporting to the Department of Arts and Industries. Tolman was placed in charge of the Division as the Assistant Curator, and the
following year Ralph Clifton Smith assumed the position as aide.
From 1924 to 1932, the Division of Graphic Arts reported to a merged Department of Arts and Industries and the Division of History. Tolman prepared monthly exhibitions
at the Smithsonian Building during these years, which consisted of works largely solicited from living artists. One year after Tolman was promoted to Curator in 1932, the
Division of Graphic Arts began submitting reports again to a re-established Department of Arts and Industries. In 1938, the Department of Arts and Industries was organized
as the Department of Engineering and Industries, which included the Division of Graphic Arts. Tolman hired Jacob Kainen as an aide in 1942, who became Curator of the Division
when Tolman was reassigned as Director of the National Collection of Fine Arts in 1946.
When USNM was reorganized in 1957, the Division of Graphic Arts began reporting to a Department of Arts and Manufactures in the Museum of History and Technology (MHT).
Prior to this reorganization, Kainen worked on developing the color printmaking collection and added more antique printing presses to the collections of prints and tools,
with assistance from museum aides Eugene J. Fite and Fuller O. Griffith III. In 1960, Eugene N. Ostroff joined the Division as Associate Curator and eventually became Curator
of the Division of Graphic Arts at Kainen's retirement in September 1966.
In 1969, MHT was organized as the National Museum of History and Technology, and the Division of Graphic Arts merged with the Section of Photography to become a Division
of Graphic Arts and Photography, which reported to the Department of Applied Arts.
Research of the Division of Graphic Arts centered on the history of printing technology. The Division documented the techniques, materials, and equipment used in writing,
drawing, line engraving, etching, photogravure, lithography, halftone printing, silk-screen stencil, papermaking, calligraphy, and bookbinding. The Division also prepared
exhibitions of tools, heavy machinery, and supplies used in the printmaking process, most of which became part of the Hall of Graphic Arts.
Curators and staff of the Division included Sylvester Rosa Koehler, Curator, 1886-1900; Paul Brockett, Custodian, 1904-1920; Ruel P. Tolman, museum aide, 1912-1919, Assistant
Curator, 1920-1931, Curator, 1932-1946; Ralph Clifton Smith, museum aide, 1921-1926; C. Allen Sherwin, museum aide, 1935-1937; Jacob Kainen, museum aide, 1942-1945, Curator,
1946-1966; Eugene J. Fite, museum aide, 1947-1950, Assistant Curator, 1951; Fuller O. Griffith III, museum aide, 1955-1957, Assistant Curator, 1958-1960, Associate Curator,
1961-1964; Peter Morse, Associate Curator, 1965-1967; Eugene N. Ostroff, Associate Curator, 1960-1966, Curator, 1966- ; and Elizabeth M. Harris, Assistant Curator, 1965- .
National Museum of American Art. Department of Graphic Arts Search this
Extent:
17 cu. ft. (17 record storage boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1966-1989
Descriptive Entry:
These records consist of files documenting exhibitions organized by the Department of Prints and Drawings and the Department of Graphic Arts, 1968-1987, under the leadership
of Moser. Also included is a small amount of material left behind by curators Jacob Kainen and Janet A. Flint. Materials include correspondence, memoranda, label text, object
lists, loan information, clippings, images, newsletters, course lecture notes, floor plans, catalogue manuscripts, checklists, lists of recent acquisitions, research files,
and other related materials.
Historical Note:
In 1983, the Department of Prints and Drawings was renamed the Department of Graphic Arts. Joann Moser, who joined the staff in 1985 as Curator, became Curator-in-Charge,
1987- .
Smithsonian American Art Museum. Curatorial Office Search this
Extent:
1 cu. ft. (1 record storage box)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Manuscripts
Date:
1992-2000
Descriptive Entry:
These records document the incoming and outgoing correspondence from the Curatorial Office's Division of Graphic Arts. Although the files are labeled as "Read Files,"
that is misleading. The files contain original incoming correspondence, copies of outgoing responses, as well as internal communications.
Correspondents include dealers, general public, and contacts within the Museum and with other museums. Topics include exhibitions, individual works of art, and acquisitions
declined.
Smithsonian Institution. Office of Public Affairs Search this
Extent:
1.38 cu. ft. (2 16x20 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Manuscripts
Illustrations
Drawings
Date:
1998-1999
Descriptive Entry:
This accession consists Smithsonian Institution logo design guidelines and related materials, proofs and finals, as prepared by the design firm of Chermayeff &
Geismar Associates. The Office of Public Affairs used these guidelines in Smithsonian logo letter heading presentations in offices. Materials also include a "Smithsonian Magazine"
cover proposed by Chermayeff & Geismar, but not implemented; three formats of the Smithsonian logo, camera-ready art; and early news release designs, not final. Some materials
are in electronic format.
